Sallie Mae Forms Partnership to Offer Innovative Private Education Loan to NEA Members

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sallie Mae has formed a new partnership with the National Education Association’s Member Benefits (NEA MB) Corporation to offer members of the nation’s largest educators union and their families the Smart Option Student Loan, an innovative private loan that helps families save money and pay off student loans faster.

“It is our mission to provide members access to programs and products that help make their personal and professional lives easier,” said Gary Phoebus, president and CEO of NEA Member Benefits. “With the increasing costs of postsecondary education, it became very important for us to find a partner that can help our members pay for postsecondary education. With the Smart Option Student Loan, we have secured low interest rates and helped ensure families and students incur less debt.”

Since its founding in 1966 to serve the members of NEA, now numbering 3.2 million educators, NEA Member Benefits is dedicated to making the personal and professional lives of members better through “best in class” programs and services. NEA MB selected Sallie Mae to assist its members and their family members who need supplemental funding for college or graduate school. With market-leading rates, the Smart Option Student Loan features interest payments while in school and a shorter payment term, enabling undergraduates and graduates to complete their degrees with less debt, save money in interest charges, and pay off their loans an average of five to eight years faster compared to a standard 15-year, payment-deferred private education loan.

“NEA members know first-hand the value of education, and Sallie Mae is here to help make those dreams a reality,” said Joe DePaulo, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Sallie Mae. “This new model of private education loan empowers families to pay a little now and save a lot later. It’s the smart, educated choice.”

For more details about the Smart Option Student Loan in partnership with NEA, please visit www.SallieMae.com/NEA.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter:  @GAFrontPage

Inflation Continues to Outpace Teacher Salary Growth

Teachers across the nation are continuing to lose spending power for themselves and their families as inflation continued to outpace teacher salaries last year, according to the National Education Association's update to the annual report Rankings and Estimates: Rankings of the States 2008 and Estimates of School Statistics 2009.

Over the decade from 1997-98 to 2007-08, in constant dollars, average salaries for public schoolteachers declined 1 percent while inflation increased 31.4 percent. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia saw real declines in average teacher salaries over those years, adjusting for inflation.

"Public schoolteachers deserve professional pay for professional work," said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. "If we are going to close the achievement gaps, reduce school dropouts and recruit and retain highly qualified teachers, we need to compensate teachers across the country fairly for the work they do."

According to the report, the average one-year increase in public schoolteacher salaries was 3.1 percent, while inflation increased 4.3 percent. The national average public schoolteacher salary for 2007-2008 was $52,308. State average public schoolteacher salaries ranged from those in California ($64,424), New York ($62,332) and Connecticut ($61,976) at the high end, to South Dakota ($36,674), North Dakota ($40,279) and Utah ($41,615) at the low end.

Rankings and Estimates provides statistics to raise public understanding of key issues affecting teaching and learning conditions in the nation's public schools. Teacher salaries and public education indicators including school enrollment, student-teacher ratios and school funding at the local, state and federal levels are reported in the annual state-by-state report. Among the other highlights:

" Public school enrollment - Public school enrollment was 48,949,723 million, up 0.3 percent over fall 2006. The largest percentage enrollment increases from fall 2006 to fall 2007 were in Nevada (3.5 percent), Arizona (2.5 percent), Delaware (2.1 percent) and Ohio (2.1 percent). Twenty states and the District of Columbia experienced declines in student enrollment in fall 2007. The greatest declines were in the District of Columbia (-3.6 percent), Michigan (-2.6 percent), Vermont (-2.0 percent) and North Dakota (-1.6 percent).
" Gender diversity in teaching - Males comprised 24.5 percent of public schoolteachers in 2008. Many of them taught in Kansas (33.6 percent), Oregon (31.6 percent), Alaska (30.9 percent) or Indiana (30.5 percent). States with the lowest percentage of male faculty were Arkansas (16.2 percent), Virginia (17.4 percent), Mississippi (17.5 percent), Louisiana (18 percent), South Carolina (18.5 percent) and Georgia (19.7 percent).
" Expenditures per student - The U.S. average per student expenditure for public elementary and secondary schools in 2007-08 fall enrollment was $9,963. States with the highest per student expenditures were New Jersey ($15,374), New York ($15,286), Vermont ($14,336), Wyoming ($13,967) and Massachusetts ($13,768). Arizona ($5,346), Utah ($5,734), Nevada ($7,133), Mississippi ($7, 175) and Idaho ($7, 305) had the lowest per student expenditures.
Rankings and Estimates has presented selected education statistics since the 1960s. The complete report can be found at http://www.nea.org/edstats/images/rankings08.pdf

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page